Michael Rinaldi will return to the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship grid after it was announced he would replace Tito Rabat at the Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team following the Spaniard’s surprise departure. Rinaldi brings a load of WorldSBK experience to the team, which also fields rookie Bahattin Sofuoglu, and will hope to utilise that as he makes a somewhat unexpected return to the World Superbike field from his home round at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”. This move allows reigning Moto2™ European Champion Roberto Garcia to make his WorldSSP debut at Misano.

RINALDI'S JOURNEY TO WORLD SUPERBIKE: through the STK600 and STK1000 ranks

29-year-old Rinaldi made his name coming through the WorldSBK paddock, starting off in STK600. He finished 11^th in his rookie season, in 2014, before embarking on a title charge in 2015 but being defeated by now two-time WorldSBK Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team). In 2016, he made his STK1000 debut, finishing sixth and, again, diced with Razgatlioglu who was fifth before the pair finished 1-2 in 2017 – this time, with Rinaldi getting the better of ‘El Turco’.

WORLD SUPERBIKE CAMPAIGNS: from Independent star to factory rider

Rinaldi’s performances in the two Superstock classes earnt him a seat in WorldSBK with the Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team, where he impressed by becoming a regular points scorer in his first season. He took a best finish of sixth place in Race 2 at Brno, while he finished in the top-ten on seven occasions. For 2019, he moved to the Barni Racing Team, finishing 13^th in the standings, improving his best finish to P5 at Misano. In 2020, Rinaldi switched teams again as he joined Team GoEleven on their Ducati Panigale V4 R – the only manufacturer he’d ridden for in WorldSBK – which paid off for Rinaldi.

He claimed three podiums, his first in WorldSBK, including a maiden victory all in one weekend at MotorLand Aragon after he took the fight to then Kawasaki-rider Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) and Ducati’s Scott Redding (MGM BONOVO Racing). Those performances earned him a seat at the factory Ducati Aruba.it Racing – Ducati squad for 2021. Rinaldi was a race winner on several occasions in factory colours, including twice on home soil at Misano in 2021. In the same year, he claimed victory in Barcelona, but he’d have to wait until 2023 until his next win, coming at Aragon in 2023. Rinaldi also took 19 rostrums for the Bologna-based manufacturer, but he was unable to keep his seat for 2024, moving to Motocorsa Racing. That move didn’t pay off, with a troubled year for Rinaldi.

WORLD SUPERSPORT MOVE: new surroundings for the Italian

Rinaldi made the move to Yamaha for 2025, riding the R9 in WorldSSP for the GMT94-YAMAHA squad. His highlight in five rounds so far has been a P4 in Race 2 in Australia, but it’s been one of the only times he’s challenged the top ten. Since the Championship moved to Europe, his best result has been a P12 in Race 2 at Assen. However, he will now stop his WorldSSP campaign and link back up with the WorldSBK grid, on the Yamaha R1, for the final seven rounds of the 2025 season.

MUSICAL CHAIRS: Roberto Garcia set for WorldSSP debut

With Rinaldi moving back to WorldSBK, that opens up a seat at GMT94-YAMAHA for the rest of 2025. The chosen rider is Spanish teenager Roberto Garcia, who has already completed a test with the team. The 18-year-old is the reigning Moto2™ European Champion while he also made his Moto2™ World Championship debut last year. Previously, he’s been a regular frontrunner in the European Talent Cup. This season, he was aiming to defend his title though had a tricky start to the season, retiring from Race 1 and finishing Race 2 in 12^th at Estoril.

RINALDI SAYS: “I have to thank Motoxracing and Yamaha for their belief in me, as well as Christophe and everyone at GMT94”

Discussing his WorldSBK return, Rinaldi added: “I am extremely grateful to Christophe Guyot and the GMT94 Yamaha team for giving me the opportunity to join them to ride the new R9 this season. I gave it everything, and so did the team, but for whatever reason it did not come together for us. To get another chance to race in WorldSBK is an amazing opportunity for me, so I have to thank Motoxracing and Yamaha for their belief in me, as well as Christophe and everyone at GMT94 – the support of this team has been unwavering and I must thank Andrew, Loick, Sébastien, Benoit and Flavien for their tireless work this season. I wish GMT94 and Roberto the best of luck for the rest of the season.”

GARCIA EXCITED FOR DEBUT: “This is an amazing opportunity for me to show my potential and to push at 120%!”

Talking about his upcoming debut, Garcia stated: “This is an amazing opportunity for me to show my potential and to push at 120%! I am very happy to be part of the Yamaha family and the iconic GMT94 team. The goal is to grow race by race and achieve great results for the brand, my team and also me. I am looking forward to getting started, because I very much enjoyed riding the bike for the first time. I am super happy, motivated and very excited. Thank you to Yamaha and the GMT94 team for trusting me with this great opportunity.”

YAMAHA’S VIEW: “Rinaldi’s ability is unquestionable… We have already undergone a shakedown test with the team and Garcia surprised us with his pace!”

Yamaha Motor Europe, Road Racing Manager in the Motorsport Division, Niccolo Canepa said: “Five-times a WorldSBK race winner, Michael Rinaldi’s ability is unquestionable. For whatever reason, it hasn’t worked for him in WorldSSP this year despite huge effort from both Michael and the GMT94 Yamaha team. An opportunity has arisen for him to return to WorldSBK with Yamaha Motoxracing, and this is a move which makes sense – so we wish both him and the team good luck with this. Joining the GMT94 Yamaha team will be Roberto Garcia, and exciting young Spanish rider we have had our eye on for a while. We have already undergone a shakedown test with the team and surprised us with his pace, so good luck to him and the GMT94 Yamaha team too!”

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